Search - The Marshall Tucker Band :: Anthology: The First 30 Years

Much Needed

Mr. Utah | Potomac, MD USA | 03/28/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a CD that a Marshall Tucker fan should buy for himself (herself? not too many)...and then buy another for a friend who is a fan too. Like most Tucker fans, I first listened to them on vinyl in the late 1970s. I was lucky enough to catch them perform at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia back in the early 1980s. That concert will forever rank among the top two or three concerts I have seen. The energy, cripsness, 20 minute jams, and unique sound were unforgettable. Marshall Tucker, along with the Allman Brothers and Outlaws, made up a hefty part of the soundtrack of my "formative" years. Their 1970s Greatest Hits album went out of print in recent years, so old and new fans were left to pay a king's ransom for used versions of the CD or search in vain for a suitable import compilation. (I bought a European version online and learned after-the-fact that it did not contain "24 Hours at a Time.")



Now, Tucker fans have a compilation that does credit to the band so many Americans embraced. "Anthology" contains most of the band's best material (tracks recorded prior to Tommy Caldwell's death and Toy Caldwell's departure from the band), some decent post-Caldwell tracks, tracks from the under-appreciated "Tenth" album (Cattle Drive), and a video version of "Fire on the Mountain." So, do not settle for paying $50 for a used-version of the 1989 Greatest Hits. Buy "Anthology" instead, put disk 1 in your (preferably American) car's cd player, get onto the nearest highway, go immediately to track 3, crank the volume, and... live."

Southern Rock At Its Best

Anthony S. Prowse | Melbourne, Australia | 04/19/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"At the risk of offending all you Southern Rock fans out there, MTB was, in my opinion, the BEST Country Rock band of the era. Their first three albums (Self-titled, A New Life and Where We All Belong) are the Holy Trinity of Southern Rock. If you want the best of MTB you can't go past these 3 albums then you can dip your toes into their other Capricorn albums at your leisure. The Capricorn albums are their best, especially those recorded before the death of co-founder and criminally under-rated bass player, Tommy Caldwell. The band blended elements of country, jazz and blues into their superb material, written in the main by Toy Caldwell, guitarist extrordinaire. Their biggest hit, "Heard It In A Love Song", is not one of their stongest numbers but it allowed them to keep on going for which we all must be grateful. This Anthology album is a fair representation of their work over a very long period of time and is the album to get if you wish to own just one album. It misses many of their better songs but has to include some of their longer jam tracks which cuts down the number of tunes one can squeeze onto a double CD. There are, in fact, quite a few glaring omissions. Their "Capricorn Years" Anthology is probably a better buy but it is currently out of print and even it has its faults; too many single/edited versions. This all means that there is still not a definitive MTB Anthology album out there. The perfect Anthology/Box Set would include most of their first 3 albums, a heaping of their best from the rest of the Capricorn material and a sampling of their later material. All this should be Remastered. Include a comprehensive booklet with all the original album artwork (superb) and a concert DVD which shows Toy Caldwell playing up a storm. This would be about a 4 disc set at less than $50 and would be a fitting tribute to one of the greatest bands of the last 30 years."